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Use the Awwwww Factor

Top 3 characteristics that make posts go viral

Have you seen the piece about the orphan baby kangaroo and wombat who become BFFs? They also have a baby wallaby friend. Because of course they do.

Put on a happy face
Put on a happy face How can you write blog content that gets readers to read your posts? Make messages positive and emotional. Image by Kotin

Awwwww.

It’s obvious why these bundles of joey are making the rounds on Facebook. But how can you use the same approaches to make your content marketing messages travel the world, while others just languish on the couch?

Write a blog post that’s positive and emotional, suggest Jonah Berger and Katherine L. Milkman, two professors at the University of Pennsylvania.

Increase your chances of going viral by increasing these characteristics of your blog post:

1. Anger

This emotion is 34% more likely to go viral. That’s equivalent to spending an additional 2.9 hours as the lead story on The New York Times site. And that’s nearly four times the average number of hours articles spend in that position.

Sample headline:

What Red Ink? Wall Street Paid Hefty Bonuses

To tap this No. 1 technique for getting your audience to read your posts and pass them on:

  • Don’t be afraid of fear appeals. Negative benefits can be more effective than positive ones.
  • Make ’em sick, make ’em well. Show how your organization solves the problems that make readers angry.

2. Awe

This emotion is 30% more likely to go viral:

Rare Treatment Is Reported to Cure AIDS Patient
The Promise and Power of RNA

That makes awe the No. 2 emotion we can tap to make messages go viral. Call it The Awwwww Factor. To make your messages awe inspiring:

  • Write about animals. Do you have a Ben the Bear story in your organization?
  • Write about people. Try human-interest stories.
  • Tell stories. Storytelling is the most effective way to add positive emotion to your content.

3. Practical value

This characteristic is 30% more likely to go viral:

Voter Resources
It Comes in Beige or Black, but You Make It Green

Write how-to stories, tipsheets and other news readers can use to live their lives better.

How can you write content readers want to read?

There’s a lot of ME in social MEdia. And there’s a great big I in TwItter. No wonder social media thought leader Brian Solis calls content marketing the egosystem.

Get Clicked, Liked & Shared, our content-writing workshop on April 18

Unfortunately, talking about yourself and your stuff on social channels works about as well as it does at a cocktail party. But watch your social media reach and influence grow when you deliver relevant, valuable, useful content.

Learn how to identify what content readers want to read at Get Clicked, Liked & Shared, our content-writing workshop on April 18-22.

You’ll learn to your company as the expert in the field. Find out how to make sure your posts are welcome guests and not intrusive pests. And discover the power of the most-retweeted word in the English language.

Save up to $100 with our group discounts.

Register for Get Clicked, Liked & Shared, our content-writing workshop on April 18